prosperous age

It was almost the first month, and the reply from the court was long overdue.

The reply is also very simple, naturally it is to encircle and suppress the Japanese pirates with all their strength and not give them any chance.

Such a response from the imperial court did not exceed the expectations of the Hangzhou government officials.

After receiving the reply, Wei Guangde's mission is now over, and he also ordered his entourage to pack their bags and prepare to return.

When they came here, they took the Grand Canal, but it was only January, and the canal had not resumed the same navigation. Naturally, they couldn't wait until March to set off, so they could only take the land route.

Since they chose to return to Beijing by land, starting from Hangzhou, the first stop of Wei Guangde and his party naturally chose Nanjing, from there they crossed the Yangtze River and followed the official road beside the canal all the way north.

He walked this road once when he came to Beijing to rush for the exam. His current identity is different from the past, but it is just a good time to revisit it.

The time has come to February of the 39th year of Jiajing, and Wei Guangde and his party headed towards Nanjing City in a light car.

However, when the group approached the city of Nanjing, they got a piece of news by accident, which made Wei Guangde and others hesitate and dare not move forward.

At the beginning of the year, a plague swept across the southeastern land, and even Nanjing and other important towns were severely affected.

Fools in human history have encountered countless plagues, some of which are particularly serious, and have a huge impact on human offspring: plague, smallpox, influenza, cholera, malaria, etc.

From the point of view of modern people, the plague is an infectious disease caused by some strong pathogenic substances, such as bacteria and viruses. However, after repeated research by many ancient physicians, they pointed out that "the disease caused by febrile plague is neither wind, nor cold, nor heat, nor dampness." , there is a strange feeling between heaven and earth."

It is believed that hostility is material and can be subdued by drugs.

Although hostility is "invisible, invisible, and soundless and odorless, how can it be seen or heard", but it is an objectively existing substance, and it is further pointed out that "things that can control qi are medicines."

Hostility invades the body through the mouth and nose. It is believed that "evil enters through the mouth and nose" and is infected with hostility.

Naturally, Wei Guangde would not explain too much. For a non-medical student like him, the plague is still very esoteric. It cannot be said that it is caused by a virus infection. How to explain the virus at that time.

Facing the plague, Wei Guangde and his party simply stayed at the post station, not daring to go further north.

Half a month passed during this stay, and it was not until the news of Nanjing that the plague was gone that they set off again. By the time they entered Nanjing, it was already approaching the end of February in the 39th year of Jiajing.

Entering Nanjing City, Wei Guangde clearly felt that the atmosphere was not right. It was different from the depression of all industries after the catastrophe. Pedestrians on the road walked like wind, as if they were trying to minimize their time outside. Soldiers wearing mandarin duck battle jackets of the Ming Army could be seen everywhere on the street. Groups wandered the streets.

There are strict regulations on the soldiers of the Ming army. It seems that the soldiers of later generations spend most of their time in the barracks, and they are absolutely not allowed to enter and leave the barracks at will.

However, when Wei Guangde and his party entered the city of Nanjing, what they saw was that the soldiers were wandering around in the city at will, as if they completely ignored the military law of the Ming Dynasty.

In the past, when such a situation happened, the patrolling censor had brought in the soldiers of the city defense battalion to arrest all these undisciplined soldiers, but today in Nanjing City, Wei Guangde did not see such a situation.

After arranging his entourage, Wei Guangde took Zhang Ji and his servants directly to Duke Wei's mansion. It would be rude if he didn't go to the father-in-law, Duke Wei Xu Pengju, to salute when he arrived in Nanjing.

Because he was just passing by, Wei Guangde didn't send anyone to report to Nanjing City at first, so when Wei Guangde called to open the gate of Duke Wei's mansion, the gatekeeper in the mansion was still surprised.

Duke Wei of course knew that Wei Guangde had gone to Suzhou and Hangzhou, but he did not expect that Wei Guangde would come to Nanjing at this time. After all, there was a plague in the city that they, the rich and powerful, could not avoid.

Wei Guogong Xu Pengju received Wei Guangde in the main hall. Wei Guangde sat down and started chatting. Knowing Wei Guangde's intentions and hearing that Wei Guangde planned to cross the Yangtze River to return to the capital at this time, he immediately shook his head and said, "My son-in-law, I suggest you wait a little longer if you want to go north. , even if you get to the Yellow River, it will be difficult for you to cross the river, not to mention that the plague in Jiangbei has not passed, and it is not convenient for you to go on the road at this time."

Wei Guangde and his party left the post station and entered Nanjing City because they heard that the plague in Nanjing City had passed and no one had died in the past few days, so they dared to enter the city. Now that they heard that the epidemic in Jiangbei is not over yet, they naturally chose to follow suit and plan to go back So I asked Zhang Ji to go over and give support, and let the entourage have a good rest in Nanjing City for a few days.

Coincidentally, stationing in Nanjing City is much more convenient than staying in a post station in the countryside.

"By the way, father-in-law, this time I came to the city, why are there soldiers wandering all over the streets, as if there is no discipline at all, are they all soldiers sent out to patrol?"

Wei Guangde recalled the scene he saw when he entered the city, and asked aloud.

"The people in the Zhenwu Camp are making noise about their pay, and so is the Ministry of War. It's no wonder the soldiers don't make noise if they should pay or not."

Xu Pengju shook his head and said with a smile, he, as the Nanjing garrison, was of course concerned about the troubles caused by the Ministry of War. After all, if the soldiers really broke out, he, the leader of the soldier, would not be able to escape.

But he really didn't want to get involved in this matter.

"Nanjing Ministry of War can't even pay this little soldier's salary. The Zhenwu Battalion is an important force in Nanjing City. It seems that it is because of that incident that the newly formed Japanese army was formed."

Wei Guangde had a vague impression, as if he had seen it when he was reading the Tang newspaper. In order to prevent the Japanese invaders from coming to Nanjing again, Zhang Jia, then Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, formed a group to prepare for the Japanese invaders.

It's just that after that incident, the Japanese pirates never set foot in Nanjing City again, so such an army naturally became a decoration.

"It's a long story"

Xu Pengju, as the leader of Nanjing City, would not know what happened inside and outside Nanjing City, and as a local high-ranking official, he knew far more than ordinary people in the city. The cause and effect of Zhenwuying's wage disturbance.

Zhenwuying was a Japanese imperial army recruited by Zhang Jia when he was Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. It was composed of local athletes and belonged to Nanjing Jingying.

According to the old system, Nanjing sergeants who had wives were paid one shi per month for food, and those who had no wives were paid six dou. In mid-spring, mid-autumn and February, every shi of rice was converted into silver 5 qian.

This kind of treatment is naturally acceptable to soldiers who have known the old rules for a long time. As for some unspoken rules in the officialdom, they are also acceptable, and it was considered safe at first.

It's just that with the lack of food and pay for the northern frontier army, the urging of conscripts is urgent.

At that time, Minister of the Ministry of War, Fang bluntly demolished the east wall to make up for the west wall. He asked to transfer millions of military supplies from Nanjing to the north, and transferred the food and salaries that should have been supplied to Nanjing to the frontier army, resulting in a serious shortage of storage in Nanjing.

When Ma Kun succeeded the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing, due to the shortage of reserves, he proposed to reduce the monthly military pay of Nanjing Zhenwuying soldiers from 5 silver to 4 silver, and the soldiers of Zhenwuying complained a lot from then on.

In fact, the military salary of 5 sen per month is really less than half. For those with wives, it is not enough to make ends meet. Now that [-] renminbi is deducted, it can be regarded as completely arousing the dissatisfaction of the soldiers in the Zhenwu camp. .

Fortunately, all the sergeants knew what was going on, even though their salaries were deducted by [-]%, they were only annoyed in private and did not dare to act presumptuously.

Shortly after Wei Guangde went south last year, Jia Yingchun, Minister of the Household Department, fell ill and was forced to resign and return to his hometown to recuperate. Ma Kun was appointed Minister of the Household Department of Beijing to succeed Jia Yingchun. The servant Huang Maoguan maintained it.

And there was a famine around Nanjing last year, and a plague broke out this year. There were many deaths, and some sergeants who died of illness were not removed from the army.

In view of the lack of rations and salaries, Huang Maoguan strictly checked the number of deaths in the Nanjing army, and the rations and salaries of the dead sergeants were directly stopped, which completely angered the rest of the soldiers.

You must know that at this time, the price of grain in Nanjing City is already eight qian per shimi, while the Nanjing household department only pays at four qian per shimi.

At this time, many family members of the soldiers who died of illness were still waiting for the money to make ends meet and overcome this difficulty. Now they have stopped directly, which naturally made many soldiers feel sad.

"In the past few months, the repayment of food and salaries was often postponed, which has already made the sergeants below dissatisfied. The military salaries that were supposed to be paid in early February have been delayed for more than half a month, and there is no sign of reissuing them. Those sergeants are now even in the barracks. If you don’t want to go, you just hang out in groups in the market all day long, and you don’t know that the Ministry of War is going to make such a fuss before you stop.”

Speaking of the latter, Xu Pengju also sighed with some worry.

"Huang Maoguan, as the governor and assistant minister, didn't he know how to ask the secretary of the Tibetan government, Wailang, to make a theory. Now he is in charge of the Nanjing household department. If the soldiers below raise wages and cause a mutiny, can he bear the responsibility?"

Knowing the ins and outs, Wei Guangde couldn't help worrying.

Looking at the mental state of those soldiers in the market today, Wei Guangde felt deeply worried.

Don't prepare for the Japanese and prepare for the Japanese, until the end you will turn into a Japanese pirate and burn, kill and plunder.

"Who knows what they think, I guess they are suppressing the soldiers in the Zhenwu Camp and not paying their salaries, maybe they are inextricably linked with the one in the capital."

Xu Pengju shook his head and said, "At the beginning, he wanted to reduce the Zhenwu Camp soldiers' pay, after all, it is a newly formed army, and unlike the old guard, it cannot be abolished at will.

Cai Kelian occupies the position of Minister of the Nanjing Household Department. In fact, he is waiting for the next successor to come, so that he can resign and return to his hometown without caring about the affairs of the yamen.

However, from the point of view that Huang Maoguan did not embarrass Fang Youshan, the Tibetan member of the department, the people in the Ministry of War just mentioned it and did not make a fuss. There should be some kind of tacit understanding. Ma Kun, Huang Maoguan, and Fang Youshan should all be insiders. On purpose. "

"What if there is a mutiny? I went into the city today and saw the appearance of those soldiers. I'm afraid it might be"

Wei Guangde just raised his mouth slightly, but thinking that this is the city of Nanjing after all, no matter how courageous those soldiers are, how can they turn the world upside down? will be suppressed.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that he seemed to be worrying too much.

"My son-in-law's reminder, I think I have to guard against it."

Speaking of this, Xu Pengju stood up unconsciously and walked back and forth in the room twice, and finally muttered, "I will immediately issue orders to the left guard, Huben right guard and Wu Dewei to get them ready and on guard. Zhenwuying really came out to make trouble."

"It shouldn't be so. I just said it casually before, but now that I think about it, I should have worried too much. After all, there are many guards in the city of Nanjing. Dare to make trouble."

Hearing what Xu Pengju said just now, Wei Guangde hastily explained.

"You don't know, there are quite a few guards in Nanjing and outside the city, but most of them have become places where the sons and daughters of noble families make military achievements and make money. It's not as good as the surrounding guards, which can at least pull out a group of people. Many of those guards can't even put up empty shelves."

Xu Pengju shook his head and explained to Wei Guangde, "A few years ago, dozens of Japanese pirates dared to run to the city of Nanjing to show off their power. If there were really people in the guard, even if there were only a few thousand people, they would be able to wipe out those dozens of Japanese pirates in one swarm. But no one."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde unconsciously widened his eyes and looked at Xu Pengju in disbelief.

Xin said, the soldiers in Nanjing City have become like this, and you are really incompetent as a Nanjing defender.

"Then the three guards before"

Immediately, Wei Guangde remembered the names of the three guards reported by Xu Peng earlier. Could it be that they were the only remaining guards in Nanjing City that were still capable of fighting?

"That's my Xu family's territory. The whole camp is either Xu's surname, or my Xu family's generals. They can finally pull out some people, so they won't be completely empty-handed."

When Xu Pengju said this, his rare old face turned red.

No wonder.
Wei Guangde was speechless for a while, the guards left behind in Nanjing were really divided up by the nobles who stayed behind, the family divided one or two guards for profit, the Xu family was the largest in Nanjing, so they divided three guards.

Then the Nanjing Household Department knew the details and was unwilling to provoke the guards controlled by these nobles, so they simply started to recruit new troops and wanted to get some wool from them. No wonder those people were so bold that they would not return to the barracks. Just wandering around the streets in Nanjing city.

Indeed, the treatment is unfair.

The other soldiers in Nanjing City can receive their military pay, but the Zhenwu Camp is like a stepmother. Not only can they not receive their money on time, but they also have the risk of being cut off their military pay, which no one can bear.

"Zhenwu Battalion, in fact, it is really. It is managed by the Ministry of War in name, but it is actually supported by the Ministry of Households with money, so they listen to the Ministry of Households. The Ministry of War is not willing to intervene. When it was first established, there were some honorable children. In the camp, but since the Ministry of Households deducted the military salary, those people couldn't get any money, so they all transferred away one after another.

Why stay here? Every day the soldiers below clamor for pay. They can’t get any money themselves. Who would want to wade into this muddy water? They are all well-connected. It’s easy to ask for orders from the Ministry of War and transfer them to other guards to make money. The silver is gone.

So up to now, the Zhenwu Camp is actually managed by the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of War does not interfere, haha"

In the end, Xu Pengju told Wei Guangde the truth, that Nanjing Xungui had no money to take in Zhenwuying, so no one wanted to intervene.